WHY ANESTHESIA?! My journey to becoming a physician anesthesiologist

[@laisaviana6761]

It’s great to hear that you were an engineer. I used to be a lawyer and now I’m a third year medical student! ❤

[@JustinYuanMD]

I can see future med students finding this video and inspiring them to consider anesthesia as well :]

[@AmandaSXiMD]

Thanks, Justin! I'm sure you'll also be inspiring future anesthesiologists!

[@doctorfaheemkhanbalouch6322]

Thank for sharing your experience. I am a resident in Anesthesiology. I love it

[@okidokidoc]

Your journey really resonated with me! I'm currently in the "lost medical student trying everything" stage in life, HAHAHA. But thank you, Doc Amanda for making these kinds of videos. Now I have something to look forward to, and I really am considering critical care and Anesthesiology in the future! Hope you keep 'em coming! looking forward to your videos :)

[@AmandaSXiMD]

Thank you so much for following along! It can feel daunting to be in the lost medical student phase, but you'll figure it out. =)

[@jeanpauljeanpaul2530]

Radiology is the way to go, sadly I can no longer work because of a traumatic brain injury. stay safe Doc!

[@AmandaSXiMD]

If only I didn't fall asleep in the dark, warm reading room! But yes, I agree that radiology is also a really great specialty - we really rely on our radiology colleagues to help us with medical decision making.

[@ericottojr2242]

Thank you so much for posting this! I'm a third, heavily considering Anesthesia. Like you, I also feel like I could see myself in multiple specialties. Really helpful to hear your thought process!

[@AmandaSXiMD]

You're welcome! Keep exploring, but don't forget to check out specialties that typically aren't represented during your required clerkships. Let me know if you have any additional questions along the way.

[@teriinguy3n]

It is here and we are so so grateful!!!

[@AmandaSXiMD]

Thanks for watching!!!

[@marcellajewell]

Just started ms3 and really interested in anesthesia- thanks for making this!

[@AmandaSXiMD]

Thanks for watching and feel free to reach out with any additional questions along the way!

[@SludgeMan90]

Hi Amanda. I am about to graduate and I am struggling with what path to go on form here as a result of suffering with a lot of chronic health issues. Do you think anesthesia is a more overwhelming and physically demanding residency as compared to other residencies ? I do enjoy the physiology quite a lot and I like the OR, but perhaps it is not a great fit if you tend to get off days when your function can be somewhat reduced.

[@AmandaSXiMD]

Hi there! I think that all residencies can be overwhelming in ways. The hours are almost always longer than when you're an attending. You're also facing a lot of new scenarios and medical conditions and social challenges while navigating your role as a resident. I think that the upfront transition into anesthesia is very jarring since we are not taught what anesthesiologists have to learn in medical school so there is a lot of muscle memory and immediate triaging that is cognitively taxing. I'd also say that there are also a lot of subspecialty rotations in anesthesia that may require more cognitive load or physical movement [e.g. big bleeding cases like traumas, liver transplants, big open aortic cases, cardiac cases, etc]. In most medical residencies, it is not procedural heavy so while rounds often require long periods of time standing, you're not moving patients, pushing beds, twisting yourself into weird positions to get extra access or to do an intubation in a suboptimal condition. I'd say that having "off" days in anesthesia is tough because your patients are counting on you to be "on" as much as you can. This may mean calling out sick more often to ensure patient safety if your illness prevents you from thinking clearly, acting quickly on your feet, etc. I hope this helps! Amanda

[@SuntoLim]

New video!!! Thanks doc for sharing your experience 😁

[@AmandaSXiMD]

Thanks for watching!

[@ameliawan9729]

Thank you for sharing your experiences! I am currently in Nursing school and am graduating next year. I love critical care and ICU. I was thinking about advancing my education to gain more knowledge. I know that for MDA, you can work as an intensivist. But a CRNA can't work in ICU. I agree with you that I would love to also interact with patients and care for them for the stay. I would love that if you can share your suggestions with me! I just watched all your videos, and I love them!

[@AmandaSXiMD]

Hi Amelia! First off, thank you so much for watching - it really means a lot to me. =) Second, congratulations on pursuing a fulfilling, gratifying career in nursing! You have SO many options as you move forward with your career. I suggest that you keep your options wide open and really ask yourself what is most important to you - you can pursue NP and work in various types of ICUs, you can pursue CRNA and work in the OR, and it's never too late to go to medical school if you decide that the combination of OR and ICU is for you (we do have CRNAs that also decide that they actually wanted to be doing the role of anesthesiologist and went back to medical school)! It also depends on what your life goals are; all of these options are REALLY expensive - they're an investment that can pay off, but also require a lot more school and time. I work with so many excellent RNs that decide that that's 100% all they want to do. There's more flexibility in nursing with shifts and type of patients, etc. There's also opportunities to do RN sedation, too! Definitely reach out to individuals that you work with to pick their brains about why they picked their path and how it helped them achieve their goals. Sorry, that was a long response... hope it helped though! Amanda

[@ameliawan9729]

@@AmandaSXiMD Thank you so much for your insights and suggestions! I am really inspired! Do you work with CRNAs? Would you recommend one over the other? I do really enjoy the combination of ICU and the ability to care for one during surgeries. Before watching your channel, I have never imagined that combination, and you really opened my eyes to so many possibilities. Thank you for making these videos! I love everything that you do! I will definitely explore, and as you said in the video, it's never too late to pursue our dreams. ❤️

[@AmandaSXiMD]

I work with NPs in the ICU and CRNAs in the OR. I think it just depends what is important to you and what environment you like!

[@kimberlyplacencia6652]

Hi! Thank you for this video! Since you are also an intensivist, how does your schedule look in a week? Between being in the ICU and the OR?

[@AmandaSXiMD]

I think of my schedule in terms of months - every month I do night shifts in the ICU but I only do daytime shifts every other month (because there are more night shifts to split between everyone and we do longer stretches of daytime shifts). The rest of my time I'm in the OR. This roughly breaks down to 40-50% ICU time each month. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have additional questions!

[@AdilKhan88]

Do you know people who have finished one residency and now wanting to do anesthesia? I’m in that boat and looking for guidance. Thanks.

[@AmandaSXiMD]

Absolutely! I have many colleagues that have completed medicine residencies. We also have many residents who have switched from other specialties (frequently surgical specialties, but sometimes medicine). You'll have to apply through the match, but a good number of programs have "immediate start" spots reserved for residents who have already completed an internship so you don't have to redo that. I'd reach out to your institution's anesthesia PD to get advice and further guidance. Hope this helps!

[@AdilKhan88]

Will do. Thank you

[@JN-kk4nk]

Thanks for sharing :)

[@Recp888]

This is a great video, Dr. Xi!

[@AmandaSXiMD]

Thank you for watching!

[@willbianca1096]

This is my dream job i'm in my last year of high school going into college would u help me and answer some questions i have

[@AmandaSXiMD]

Feel free to post your questions!

[@daoud298]

Hello, I want a speciality with at the same the knowledge, medications and hand procedures like intubations,… Do you think anesthésiology is good for me?

[@AmandaSXiMD]

There are a number of specialties that require a strong knowledge-base in physiology and pharmacology as well as include procedures. Anesthesiology is certainly one of them. As is emergency medicine and critical care. Hope this helps and thank you for your comment!

[@ihsansyed9717]

Hello dear,I am ihsan syeed from Pakistan I am anesthesia technician I have 4 years experience with anesthesia.now I want to pursue my higher education,so what should I do now

[@4621-m5j]

Thank you for providing this auspicious information....Iam from Mahabubabad district headquarter, Telangana State, India 🇮🇳

[@akhilraaj]

After watching the whole thing, I think int Med is more apt for u

[@AmandaSXiMD]

I wouldn't be able to give up the OR setting to go into inpatient medicine!

[@mas3ymd]

Cardiac anesthesiologist here. I get some of what you’re saying, but the harsh reality is that anesthesiology is not a worthwhile use of a medical degree. Very little of what we do on a day to day basis actually qualifies as the practice of medicine, and the breadth of things we need to know in order to do our jobs simply doesn’t rise to the level of a medical specialty. We perform very simple tasks that are delegated to us because the surgeon is busy doing surgery. In fact, much of what we do has been determined for us, and there is little opportunity (or need) for us to make decisions both peri operative Lu and intraoperatively. We don’t possess much special knowledge or many skills that surgeons cannot quickly learn themselves. Delivery of volatile agents, mask ventilation, placement of invasive airways, and fluid resuscitation are skills that most surgeons either possess or can easily learn. Regional anesthesia is equally simple. And no, we are not “airway experts” either. Critical care medicine, as you pursued, does remedy some of the deficiencies in anesthesiology as a specialty, as does pain medicine. Not surprisingly, however, critical care anesthesiologists are often limited to working in surgical ICUs and are consultants rather than admitting physicians. For the rest of us, however: we do not practice medicine. We perform tasks. I’d also add that, by choosing anesthesiology, we give up much of the autonomy, control, and yes, respect that we once expected when we were budding physicians.

[@lillys2008]

i know this comment is old, but I'm only just seeing it. I'm thinking about anesthesia and I'm not necessarily too keen on medical practice, so some of this doesn't really bother me. but would u say the pay makes these problems worthwhile? I'm in highschool and i honestly only became interested in it because of how insane the salaries are.

[@Hamzakhan-xg2ms]

Which degrees ? Step by step ..A person must needs to be Physician as well as Anesthesiologist .